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NEW! Bay Cruises along San Francisco's bayshore . . .

Upcoming Events:

Our ongoing Public Talks series runs on Wednesday evenings 7:30-9:30 at Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics @ 518 Valencia Street (near 16th), in San Francisco. We hope to resume our Talks in 2021. Our entirely outdoor Autumn 2020 programming schedule is now online here.

Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. start time!

McLaren Park and Philosophers' Way

Enjoy the remarkable circumnavigation of McLaren Park provided by the Philosopher’s Way loop, prompting discussions of various aspects of southeastern San Francisco history. Enjoy scenic overlooks and this delightful open space.

(Due to pandemic restrictions, we have limited capacity on our tours. This tour is now full. Further RSVPs will be be put on a waiting list.)

A new kind of outdoor gathering to replace our normal schedule of indoor public talks. These will be shorter urban walks with a guest speaker or two, ending in a place where we can sit (safely) and have an open conversation about history, public space, and the themes that come up along the way.

More info on Shaping San Francisco Public Talks . . .

Walking Tours — Fall 2020

Social, historical, and critical tours through San Francisco.

(Due to pandemic, we have limited capacity on our walking tours. If you RSVP in the last week, you may be put on a waiting list.)

All the city guidelines should be observed while we live in this time of Covid-19. That means everyone is required to wear a covering (bandana, mask, scarf) over the nose and mouth. We will ask each of you to maintain physical distance of six feet from others who do not reside in your home. We suggest you have hand sanitizer at the ready. Public restrooms are also likely not going to be an option.

Saturday, October 10Rancho San Miguel Hilltopper

Sunday, December 13King Tide/Sea Level Rise Mission Bay

Bicycle Tours
“Cycles of History,” our social, historical, and critical tours through San Francisco by bicycle.

Our fabulous bicycle tours are led by Critical Mass co-founder Chris Carlsson, with help from LisaRuth Elliott.

San Francisco Bicycle Tours

Join our list or like us on Facebook to be notified about upcoming tours!

All the city guidelines should be observed while we live in this time of Covid-19. That means everyone is required to wear a covering (bandana, mask, scarf) over the nose and mouth. We will ask each of you to maintain physical distance of six feet from others who do not reside in your home. We suggest you have hand sanitizer at the ready. Public restrooms are also likely not going to be an option.

Due to pandemic restrictions, we have limited capacity on our tours. If you RSVP in the last week, you may be put on a waiting list.

NEXT BIKE TOUR » Sunday, November 1, 11-3pm

Haunting Tour of Colma Cemeteries!

RSVP shaping@foundsf.org

Explore Shaping San Francisco:

Ecology Emerges poster art by Mona Caron

Ecology Emerges

Discussions and reflections on the history of Bay Area ecological activism, based on oral histories documenting the past 50 years.

Ecology Emerges is an oral history gathering project to explore the past 50 years of ecological activism in the Bay Area and the role that individual and institutional memories play in the development, policy proposals, and interrelationships that together make up the existing networks of ecological politics.  We document the living ecological activist movement, in their own words, but also in a larger context of urban growth and globalization.

Read more…

Oral Histories

Oral Histories

Shaping San Francisco, as part of our ongoing work, sits down with people who have stories to tell and conducts oral history interviews.

Check them out here.

"Editor's Pick Tour" from FoundSF.org

Comprised of over 1,400 pages, and 2,500 historical photos, the wiki-based archive FoundSF.org is the product of hundreds of contributors, regular people who were compelled by the chance to investigate some piece of this City's past.

See the latest highlights…